


Calm Before The Storm

by InterstellarVagabond



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Other, dipper and mabel vs the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 05:49:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4992688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterstellarVagabond/pseuds/InterstellarVagabond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Right now Mabel is laying unconscious under a demon hell-bent on ripping the Earth apart. Dipper and Ford are gazing into the sky in horror. All hell is breaking loose. Let's go back a few days, before the world got turned upside down. Let's have a quiet and happy moment where everything was not quite alright, but not quite so wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Calm Before The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda like the idea that Ford is always shouting things at Dipper when he needs him such as that "my face is on fire" bit. I wish I had incorporated it more in here but eh, I'm done writing for today.

“Kids! Breakfast!”

“Last one there has to eat the first pancake!” Mabel yelled as she made a beeline for the door. Stan always seemed to hold true with the “first pancake being the worst” theory, and as a result there was always one “Stan-cake” that turned out horribly burned and misshapen. 

“Hey, no fair! You’ve got slipper socks on!” Dipper laughed. Mabel slid down the hallway as if to illustrate his point.

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game, sucka!” Mabel all but tumbled down the stairs and once again used her socks to slide into the kitchen. “Morning, Grunkle Stan!”

“Morning, Mabel.” Stan removed his oven mitt and then grabbed the plate of pancakes off the counter. While he set the table up with some plates and syrup, Mabel opened the fridge and pulled out a pitcher full of pink and glittery liquid. 

“Can I get you some Mabel-juice, sir?” She asked in a false French accent. 

“Oh, but of course!” Stan mimicked the accent back at her. “Only your freshest and most fanciest!”

“Oui, oui!” Mabel pulled a chair over to the counter so she could reach the mugs in the top cabinet. She poured two mugs of Mabel-juice and then looked over her shoulder.

“Hey, Dip-dop, you want some?” She asked. Then she frowned as she realized Dipper wasn’t behind her. “Hey, where’d he go?”

“Hmm? You mean Dipper?” Stan asked, looking around for the other twin. Just then the house shook slightly, and smoke came rushing into the kitchen. As Mabel and Stan coughed, waving their hands in front of their faces to try to clear up their vision, Dipper and Ford came running into the room.  
Dipper had a net in his hands and Ford was carrying his laser gun, both of them were trying to swat what appeared to be a cross between a dragon and a dragon-fly out of the air. The creature was about the size of a cat, and seemed harmless, but once it opened its mouth and belched out a small explosion of fire Stan made sure to pull Mabel behind him.

“What is that?” He yelled. 

“Get down!” Ford yelled back. “Dipper, now!”  
Dipper swung the net as hard as he could, and missed several times as Ford tried to discourage the creature from attacking by firing warning shots in its direction. Finally, Dipper managed to trap the beast. It roared and struggled to get free of the net, but only managed to scorch the kitchen floor. 

“Good work, Dipper!” Ford laughed, patting Dipper on the back so hard that the boy stumbled and had to readjust his hat. 

“Thanks! Oh, but you were so great with that laser!”

“Well it was your idea to use the flame retardant salamander net! I was still chasing it with a bucket!”

“Whoa, whoa, hang on!” Stan said suddenly. “What is THAT thing and what is it doing burning down my house?”

“I hate to remind you of whose house this actually is, but I will tell you that this is a fire-lizard that managed to sneak in while the portal was randomly firing off.” Ford said, a hint of an accusatory tone in his voice.

“Oh, so it’s your girlfriend then.” Stan shot back. 

“Like you’re one to talk about girlfriends!” Ford said. 

“Guys, guys!” Mabel rushed in. “The little dragon thing is all taken care of now, can’t we just eat breakfast? I have Mabel-juice for everyone!”

“I’ll pass on the Mabel-juice.” Dipper grimaced.

“Actually, Dipper, I still need you for the rest of the day.” Ford said. “I’ve been attempting cross-plane communication with the ghost haunting the bathroom, I think today we’ll   
make some breakthroughs.”

“Oh really? Sweet!” Dipper grinned. “Just lemme get dressed!” He handed the handle of the net over to Ford and rushed out of the room. Ford gathered the creature up in the net, holding its neck carefully so it couldn’t bite or burn his hands. 

“You better not get him into any trouble.” Stan said. 

“Aren’t you the expert on trouble?” Ford said. “I’m teaching him something. He’ll be fine.”

“Well…okay. I know you of all people can keep the kid safe from whatever weird stuff goes on around here.” Stan shrugged. 

“Of course I can.” Ford said as he left the room.

“Yeesh, living with one nerd was fine but then the other nerd came along with his fancy laser pistols and portal guns, and now the kitchen’s a battlefield.” Stan said. 

“Yeah, they’ve been spending a lot of time together…” Mabel said with a sad smile. “Dipper’s been waiting a long time to meet the author, and he’s really excited that Ford wants his help with things.”  
Stan looked at Mabel for a second and then broke out into a huge smile. “Well you know, come to think of it, I need your help with a few things around here too! The reverse mermaid is looking a little dull, and I don’t think I know the right glitter technique to use.”

“You can’t go wrong with glitter, unless you don’t use enough.” Mabel said, still sounding a bit down.

“I still trust your expertise.” Stan ruffled Mabel’s hair. “Whattya say we have a grunkle and greniece day?”

“Greniece? That doesn’t work!” Mabel laughed. 

“What, you kids are the only ones that get to make up words? I can make up words!” Stan said. “Grelephant! Grebanana! Greannosaurus rex!” 

“Gretterfly!” Mabel cheered.

“Now you’re getting it!” Stan laughed. 

 

Meanwhile Dipper was unpacking a Oujia board. The box had a picture on the front of a smiling man giving a high five to a ghost.

“Grunkle Ford, isn’t it dangerous to use one of these? I think I read it on the internet somewhere.” Dipper said. 

“Of course it’s dangerous, but lots of things are dangerous, Dipper. That doesn’t mean we should let ourselves get so scared that we never make any discoveries!” Ford replied. He was lighting candles and placing them in a circle on the bathroom floor. “Imagine what life would be like if man was too scared to walk on the moon!”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Dipper said. “Okay, I’m all set up here.”

“Good, then let’s begin.” Ford placed his fingers on the board. “Oh spirit, why have you come here?”   
Suddenly the lights flickered out, and only the candles illuminated the bathroom. Dipper put his hand on the silver mirror he’d brought just in case things got a little Northwest-y. Ford must have noticed because he spoke up. 

“Good thinking, Dipper. You’re really coming along as a paranormal investigator.”

“Really? O-oh thanks, I mean yeah I uh…” Dipper stuttered, blushing with pride. He never got to stutter his way to the end of the sentence, because just then the oujia board began spelling out streams of coded words. The pointer dashed all over the board until it was moving so fast it became a blur. Suddenly the oujia board threw itself into the air and lodged itself in the mirror. Dipper and Ford covered their faces to avoid the broken glass. 

“Interesting…” Ford commented. 

“So then I was like ‘whoa, no need for that sort of quack’.” Mabel said and Stan roared with laughter. The pair was leaving the store with a shopping cart full of glitter, paint, candy, and soda. 

“I feel sorry for anyone who didn’t get to hear that story!” He said. 

“I know right?” Mabel said. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. “Uh-oh.”

“What is it?” Stan asked. 

“Over there, it’s Gabe the weird puppet guy I had a crush on.” Mabel tried to hide her face with her hands “I so don’t want to see him right now, I’m still embarrassed that I put in   
so much work just for some jerk like him.”  
Stan looked over at the blonde boy, who appeared to be arguing with his puppets about how they had to hold onto the bike handles even if they tasted gross because that’s how he stayed on the bike. 

“This kid broke your heart?” Stan asked. 

“Yeah, and I mean I’m over him but I’m still kinda not over how bad it hurt.” Mabel said. 

“Hide over here.” Stan pushed Mabel behind the nearest car as Gabe finished locking his bike to the bike rack and walked by. 

“Grunkle Stan, what are you doing?” Mabel asked. 

“Hand me the glitter.” Stan smiled wickedly.   
Ten minutes later Gabe’s bike was absolutely covered in glitter, and “your hands smell like socks” had been written in paint across almost every available surface.

“What do you think, Mabel?” Stan asked. “I think my artistic genius has finally shown through.”

“Oh my god, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel laughed, snapping pictures on her phone. “Wait until Candy and Grenda see this!”

“Hey! My bike!” Gabe shouted from the other side of the parking lot.

“Uh-oh, cheese it, Mabel!” Stan grabbed Mabel and tossed her into the shopping cart, and ran with it back to the car. Once the pair was safely driving away, they exploded into giggles.

“So it was really scary, and I felt like an idiot.” Dipper said. “I can’t believe I thought Bill would help me for even a second.”

“It’s okay, Dipper. Bill is tricky, he’s tricked plenty of geniuses like us before.” Ford said. “What’s important is that you stopped him.”

“Do you ever have nightmares about him being in your body?” Dipper asked. 

“…All the time.” Ford said. 

“They get really bad.” Dipper said. “You watch yourself from outside your own body, hurting the people you love…”

“…helpless to stop it, and all the while he laughs.” Ford said.

“Yeah, exactly.” Dipper shivered. Ford placed a hand on Dipper’s shoulder. 

“It’s important to remember that even though scary things have happened to us in the past, they’re not happening anymore. You won, and you’re still here. Besides, if Bill ever tries anything again, we can handle him together.” He smiled down at Dipper reassuringly. 

“Yeah…thanks, Grunkle Ford.” Dipper said. 

“Now hand me that DNA extractor.” Ford said. He was standing in front of an enormous t-rex covered from head to toe in sap while Dipper held a flashlight upon the scene. “With enough of its blood we might be able to finish the job.”

“Here you go!” Dipper handed him the strange tool and Ford drilled through the sap and into the t-rex’s arm.

“What were we talking about before Bill got brought up? That song you like?” Ford asked. 

“Oh, you mean Disco Girl?” Dipper said. “I really don’t think you wanna hear it.”

“Nonsense, I’d love to. Multi-Bear is an old friend of mine and we shared similar tastes in lots of things, I’ll probably like this song too.”

 

“So if you made me a sweater, what would it have on it?” Stan asked.

“A walker and a cane to show what an old man you are.” Mabel teased. 

“Haha, you’re so funny I forgot to laugh, you little runt!” Stan grabbed Mabel and gave her an affectionate noogying.

“Well, really I’d probably put a dollar sign on it, or a fist!” Mabel said. 

“Sounds nice.” Stan said “I’d wear that.”

“Hey guys, we’re back!” Dipper said, walking into the living room. He was covered in sap and tiny bitemarks, and so was Ford.

“What happened to you?” Mabel asked. 

“Oh, we had to subdue a poltergeist that was inhabiting the goat, and we forced it into this t-rex egg, but then it hatched and we had to fight a ghost-t-rex.” Dipper said. 

“Same-old, same-old!” Ford said and Dipper laughed before they high fived. 

“Sounds like fun, Stan and I went on a crime spree!” Mabel said. 

“Really?” Dipper asked. 

“I’ll never tell.” Mabel winked and nudged Stan, who laughed. “We were just about to watch _Ducktective_ , you wanna join us?”

“Sure!” Dipper said, joining Mabel on the floor in front of Stan’s armchair. “I could use a break.”

Ford frowned. “I’ll uh…I’ll just go put these ecto-radiant eggshells down in my lab…”

“Awww, can’t you stay and watch too, Grunkle Ford?” Mabel asked. “Pleaseeeee?”

“C’mon, Sixer.” Stan said. “It’s only half an hour long, you can wait to do your nerd stuff.”  
Ford and Stan shared a look that wasn’t exactly friendly, but in the end Ford sat down on the t-rex skull. “Alright, I guess I can watch this juvenile show for a bit.”


End file.
